TEN ALLIANCE & ALLIES-FSC's GAY STRAIGHT ALLIANCE

New Hampshire Passes Marriage Bill Click the byline to view more stories by this author. By Amita Parashar New Hampshire governor John Lynch has signed the state's same-sex marriage bill into law. The state is now one of six where same-sex marriage is currently legal.

Last week, house and senate negotiators drafted and agreed on a compromised version of the bill, which provides religious protections mandated by the governor.

The state legislature passed an original marriage-equality bill earlier this year, but Governor Lynch refused to sign it until language explicitly protecting religious institutions was included. A version with the governor's language passed in the senate in late May, but failed to garner enough votes in the 400-member house.

Same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in New Hampshire as early as January 1, 2010. Article Source:http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid88076.asp

The court ruled that overturning the ban would go against the will of the people.

Despite the ruling, the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples that wed after the supreme court's original decision in May 2008, which established equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, will be allowed to stay married. Six of the seven supreme court justices voted to uphold Prop. 8.

Protests directly following the November 4 election, in which the state's voters approved the constitutional ban and nullified the May ruling, called for a court hearing on the repeal of Prop. 8, and later that month the California supreme court agreed to hear arguments. Hundreds of friend-of-the-court briefs came from various organizations followed, both for and against the state's most expensive ballot initiative in history.

Day of Decision rallies have been planned for this evening in all 50 states. For more information about the protests, visit DayofDecision.com for locations and action plans."